[Editor’s Note: We were all shocked by Juana’s passing and we felt it fitting that we publish an obituary for her. The best person to write that is Cam, but, obviously, this has hit him very hard. So, this is a team effort by several of us behind the scenes as we all process Juana’s death. Please feel free to add your memories and special connections in the comments.]
Juana Mary Atkins was born on 21 November 1968, the oldest of three children of Kevin and Mary. Her father chose her name because he read the book The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer and loved the name of hero Sir Harry Smith’s wife, Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith. Juana would later use the sobriquet Spanish Bride for this reason.
Raised in Bay of Plenty, Ōpōtiki, Kawerau and Whakatāne, she went on to attend Waikato University, where she met a fellow student by the name of Cameron Slater. They married in 1992 and had two children: Cadell (born 1996) and Willow (born 1998).
In the meantime, Juana attended Teachers College and went on to teach English and history at Hutt Valley High School.
After Cam founded the Whale Oil blog in 2005, Juana took over editing responsibilities – a role she continued into The BFD. As editor, Juana not only edited and scheduled all the blog posts and articles, but managed subscriptions and over 40 volunteer staff: writers, proofreaders, moderators, quiz writers, photoshoppers, cartoonists and other content creators.
Juana’s passion and skill had a massive impact on the evolution of both sites and helped them become professional media outlets. She loved the job: she said that while she might have been behind the scenes, she knew she was part of making a huge difference in the New Zealand media landscape.
Juana retired from her role in 2023 due to ill health from cancer.
The cancer in question was kidney cancer. Her doctors suspected the cancer began shortly after Cam had his stroke in 2019. When her kidney was removed, she had two blood transfusions during the surgery. Doctors at first believed the operation left Juana cancer free, but six months later a scan revealed that the cancer had spread to her liver and pancreas. She was given a prognosis of just 18 months left to live.
Juana elected not to seek treatment for the cancer.
She passed away on 20 July 2025.
While Juana may have seen her role as behind the scenes, she wasn’t immune to the many enemies that Whale Oil and the BFD’s fearless journalism made.
“She suffered all the pain and harassment over the years that came from being part of my life,” says Cam. “The law suits, Dirty Politics, the constant harassment by media, the defamations, the lies and the innuendos and finally my stroke all took their toll on her. She was constantly harassed by one Herald journalist in particular. But she was strong, loyal and indefatigable until the very end.”
Ranty:
Without Juana holding the fort when Cam has his stroke, the Whaleoil story would have finished there. For that we must always thank and remember her.
Lushington Brady:
When I embarked on my writing career with a tiny WordPress blog, I almost immediately attracted two items of feedback. The first was a left-wing journalism academic, not-so-subtly threatening me. The second was from the editor of a New Zealand-based blog, asking if I wanted to write for them.
Juana and Cam gave me the best break I could hope for as a new writer. More importantly, Juana slowly coached me out of writing academic bloat and learning how to be short, sharp, and to cut to the point. Along the journey from Whale Oil days, Juana and Cam became valued friends and constant supporters, whose kindness and generosity I’ll never forget.
Alwyn Poole:
From my area – both Juana and yourself gave the Charter School ‘movement’ a chance from 2013–18 and, as you were prepared to show that good things were actually happening, other media begrudgingly followed.
Rest in Peace, Juana.
